Former “Dancing With the Stars” pro dancer Derek Hough said one of his past partners could convince him to trade the judges’ table for a jive.
In a September 2024 interview with Soaps.com, the six-time mirrorball champion said he would love to reunite with his DWTS all-star partner Shawn Johnson one more time. “Shawn Johnson because we took second on the all-star season,” Hough told the outlet. “It was such a good season, and I feel like I would need to rectify that and get her another win.”
In 2009, Olympic gold medalist gymnast Johnson won the mirrorball trophy with Hough’s best friend, Mark Ballas. Three years later, she was paired with Hough for the first-ever DWTS all-star season, but the duo fell short to win the mirrorball trophy, landing in the runner-up spot. Season 8 finalist Melissa Rycroft and her partner Tony Dovolani won the all-star competition in 2012.
Shawn Johnson Said Derek Hough Forgot to Teach Her Some of the Dance Steps
Getty‘Dancing With The Stars: All Stars’ finalists Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough.
While Hough, 39, would love to have a redo with Johnson, 32, the former Olympian admitted their partnership wasn’t all roses.
During a 2023 appearance on Hannah Brown’s “Better Tomorrow” podcast, Johnson said she remains close friends with Hough more than a decade after they first danced together. She called Hough’s mind “pure genius.”
But she added, “It’s so hard to keep up with because his brain works so fast and it’s creating and just, I think he is able to see so much more than we are when he’s creating something. And I remember so many times we would get in arguments because he’d be like, ‘Why aren’t you doing it? Why aren’t you remembering the steps?’”
Johnson revealed that she had to tell Hough, “It’s in your brain. You forgot to teach me.” She noted that Hough’s routines were “very hard” to learn and that they practiced “all day.”
“That season was harder because when we showed up on day one, they knew that everybody had a season under their belt,” she continued. “So, on the opening night, we had three dances and the like the stakes were just so much higher. So we spent every waking second Sunday to Saturday in a studio. I mean we were never not in a studio.”
Derek Hough Named 3 Other Stars He’d Love to Dance With
Hough has said he likes being a judge on ‘”Dancing With the Stars” because there’s more flexibility in that role than that of a pro dancer.
In a 2022 interview with TV Insider, he admitted, “I like having the best of both worlds where I get to be a part of the show as a judge and do performances but also have time that allows me the freedom to do other projects.”
But Johnson isn’t the only celebrity who could make him have a change of tune. In the interview with Soaps.com, he named three stars who would make him consider returning as a pro dancer if they’d ever agree to do the show.
“Celine Dion, because whenever I see her, we always end up dancing in a room with each other,” the DWTS judge said. “Also, Anya Taylor Joy. If I recall, she’s got some dance background. Or Charlize Theron. I remember seeing her somewhere, and she was just sick. She was talking about how much she loved dance.”
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